Gender, information and communication networks: Implications for extension

One of the prime objectives of formal extension services is to provide information and to facilitate farmers' decision-making processes in the adoption and diffusion of innovations. Since women farmers play an important role in farming activities, it is essential that they have access to various information. But such is not the case even when extension strategies and methods are designed to reach a large number of women farmers. One of the reasons for the ineffectiveness of extension services is that they overlook the dynamism of inter-farmer communication processes in which women's role is significant in the flow of information and materials within a social system. A study was conducted to explore communication networks and patterns among women and men farmers in the hills of Nepal. Using a roster of names of respondents, a sociometric survey was employed to collect data on communication relations and information exposure from 243 females and 179 males. The study showed that males have horizontal communication among themselves while females are active seekers of information and have both horizontal as well as heterogenous communication patterns. These differential communication patterns are significant for extension interventions as extension workers would be able to facilitate rapid flow of information through appropriate members of the networks as local channels in the community. Extension organisations would also be able to redesign extension strategies and methods to reach women farmers effectively while groups could be formed along network membership. This would require training on interpersonal communication processes, networks and patterns to complement their technical expertise for effective extension services.